Data Scientist Resume Examples for Any Industry in 2023

There are 2.3 million data science jobs in the U.S. That number keeps growing every year. You could write your data scientist resume in COBOL and still get the job. 

But all those smart people, they're battling it out like League of Legends players for the top few unicorn jobs. To land one of those, your data science resume must stand out like DJ Patil at a Chuck E. Cheese.

This guide will show you:

• A data scientist resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write a data scientist resume that lands more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a data science resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for data scientists to get any job you want.

Here’s a sample resume for a data scientist made using our resume builder:

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.

Use this resume template

Sample Data Scientist Resume—See more resume examples here.

OK, data science whiz kid! Are you perhaps targeting a specific position in the information technology field? Read:

• Computer Science Resume
• Data Analyst Resume
• Data Engineer Resume
• Data Entry Resume
• Business Intelligence Developer Resume
• Information Security Analyst Resume
• Informatica Resume
• IT Resume
• Machine Learning Resume
• Network Administrator Resume
• SSRS Resume
• Programmer Resume
• Web Developer Resume
• Bioinformatics Resume
• Science Resume
• Analyst Resume
• System Administrator Resume
• SQL Developer Resume
• Tableau Developer Resume
• Power BI Resume
• Web Designer Resume
• Network Engineer Resume
• ETL Developer Resume

You can also find more guides and example that may help you write the perfect resume on Best Resume Examples for All Types of Jobs.

1

What's the Best Format for a Data Scientist Resume?

You're a data scientist.

Your job is pulling golden needles from fields of haystacks.

Your data scientist resume must be the needle, not the haystack.

Pick a trusted layout like reverse-chronological.

It's the best data science resume format. It puts your most recent work achievements first.

Use clear fonts like Cambria or Arial. Delineate them with big headings. Add white space to avoid that "drowning in data" feeling.

Last, save it as a PDF. Data scientist resume PDFs stay clean across machines. MS word resumes can corrupt in transit.

Pro Tip: While PDFs are best, check the job description first to make sure they aren't outlawed. Always choose the format suggested by the job posting.

Want to investigate other data science resume formats? See our guide: 3 Resume Formats: How to Choose the Best One [Examples]

Come with me. We'll sneak into the recruiter's office. Her name's Beth.

Mmm. Looks like she's having cheesecake factory for lunch.

She's also buried in a pile of 300+ data science resumes.

Yours is in there somewhere, like a key fact in a spreadsheet with a billion rows.

Catch the recruiter's eye with a data scientist resume summary or a resume objective.

A resume summary is for data scientists with petabytes of experience. It uses that experience to prove you fit the job.

A resume objective sells your skills and passion. Write one if you're basically like Ultron: new and powerful.

Let the following data science resume bio examples be your guide.

Experienced Data Scientist Resume Examples [Resume Summaries]

Spot the difference in these sample data scientist resume summaries:

Kerpow! This candidate just went from average to Andrew Ng. All it took were some measurable accomplishments.

That's actually not terrible. You could qualify for a lower-tier data engineering job with that. But it lacks proof behind the skills it outlines.

And here's some good news—

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

Create my resume now

When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

Don't have much experience? Check out our next two data scientist resume examples.

Two Entry-Level Data Scientist Resume Objectives

Most experts say a resume objective should show passion and skill with no experience.

But if you've got experience, flaunt it, or you'll easily get beaten out.

With details, even a new data scientist can build this kind of resume objective:

Remember Beth? Our faithful recruiter?

She wanted proof that you could do the job.

That junior data scientist resume example just gave it to her.On the other hand, don't do it like the candidate who wrote this entry-level data science resume:

That drops the ball like conflating correlation with causation.

Pro Tip: Participate in Kaggle challenges online. Some pay in cash prizes or job interviews. Plus, you can list any wins on a resume for data science positions.

Want your resume to work like Hadoop? See the data science resume sample up top. Also, check out our guides:

How To Write A Resume Summary: 21 Best Examples You Will See AND 20+ Resume Objective Examples—Use Them on Your Resume (Tips)

You're good.

You can basically concoct a Bayesian neural network during snack time.

But the hiring manager won't know that unless you prove it in your data scientist resume.

So, don't just show experience.

Show the right parts of the right experience to get the job.

Start with your most recent position. Add 3–5 bullet points with measurable accomplishments.

The next two data analyst resume samples show how to do it right (and wrong).

Data Scientist Resume Examples [Experience]

Look at these two samples of experience on a resume:

Now that’s a data scientist resume indeed! The recruiter just forgot what "quantile" means. Your well-engineered data science job resume just blew it from her mind.

Here's how to bork it:

Like an empty data set, that lacks details.

You must show proof to get the recruiter to stop skimming.

But what if your experience is null?

If that's you, check out the following fresher data scientist resume examples.

How to Write a Resume for a Data Scientist with no Experience

Don't have experience? Get a little, fast. There is no such thing as a successful resume with no experience—

Do a couple Kaggle challenges. Take on some freelance jobs through Upwork. Contribute to some open source projects on GitHub.

You can even just do data science projects on your own time, or list the ones you did in school.

They won't take years or even weeks. Even so, they'll make a machine learning resume stand out like Corinna Cortes at a NASCAR race.

These two data scientist resume examples spotlight the correct approach.

Two Data Scientist Resume Samples [No Experience]

Add a few hours of freelance work and projects, and even an entry-level data science resume looks like this:

Boom. You went from zero to the next Tim O'Reilly with a couple days of work.

Almost anyone can make a good data scientist resume like that. Just come up with examples of:

• Projects (esp. programming projects)
• Freelance experience
• Publications
• Certification
• Relevant coursework
• Achievements (e.g., Dean's List, latin honors, an extremely high GPA)

The second of our sample data science resume snippets has a major flaw:

You might as well just say, "Mongo only pawn in game of life."

Pro Tip: Check the Kaggle job board, Indeed, DataJobs, and Triplebyte. Look for jobs with startups on the HackerNews and AngelList.

A bored recruiter is a vanishing recruiter. Electrify her with action words in your data science resume. Get some here: 80+ Examples of Resume Action Words for Every Profession

Education matters more for entry-level data scientists.

But even a senior data scientist resume can use it as a springboard to get hired.

Here's how to make yours shimmer:

First, add the basics:

• College Name and Location.
• Years in School.
• Degree.

Then tie it to the job offer like probability to p values.

Check out these two professional data science resume examples:

Data Scientist Resume Examples [Education]

Both of these sample data scientist resume clips target the same job. It values statistics, machine learning, data regression, and AI.

That's no mere data scientist. It's Sandy Pentland in disguise. It plugs into the job description like a NoSQL query.

Not so the next of our data science resume examples.

Microsoft Data Science Online Class

That's the hello world of resume material.

But sprinkle in those details, and you're back in Daphne Koller mode.

Pro Tip: Should you add your GPA to a resume for a data scientist? If you're a recent graduate, you sort of have to. If not, only add it if it's impressive.

Want to make your data science student resume stand out like Sherlock Holmes with Cloudera skills? See this guide for any fresher: How to Put Your Education on a Resume [Tips & Examples]

Let's sneak up behind the hiring manager again.

She's on resume #259.

(She needs a big data analyst to help her sort through all the big data analyst resumes.)

Her biggest problem? Skills.

Everybody lists them all.

Yet no one proves a word of it.

So how can you list skills without flunking the Turing test?

Our next two data science resume examples explain.

Data Scientist Resume Examples [Skills]

Our hiring manager, Beth, put these skills in the job description:

Data Science Skills: Collaboration, CRM, Database Management, Data Visualization.

So, add them to your resume. But don't stop there.

Prove them in your bullet points like in this data scientist resume skills example:

• Collaborated with team members to optimize CRM database for a high-volume real estate firm.

• Decreased wasted phone and email time by 57%.

• Used matplotlib to create real-time ROI graphs that helped the teams focus on high-profit business. This led to a 20% increase in annual profit.

That ties skills to achievements like Spark to Zeppelin.

Use the skills below to launch the process.

List of Skills to Put on a Data Scientist Resume

Let's get you up and running with a list of data science skills.

Add to it from data scientist resumes on Indeed and other online sources.

Data Scientist Resume Skills

Use the plan above, and your data science resume will have you scoring Google/Yahoo/Splunk type jobs in no time.

Pro Tip: Don't overfit your skills to the job description. Toss in a few they didn't ask for.

Want to make a resume for data science jump off the page? See the machine learning sample resume up top. Also, see this guide: 30+ Best Examples of What Skills to Put on a Resume

Let's get back to Beth, our hiring manager.

She likes certifications on her data scientist resumes.

They're not the holy grail, but they do prove a base level of competence.

But not if you hide them in a wall of words.

Got a certification that features prominently in the job description?

Add it to your name. Plus, put it in your job summary, and in a certifications section.

Like this:

Certifications

• Microsoft Professional Program Certificate in Data Science

• GCP—Google Certified Professional Data Engineer

The big data field serves up lots of certifications. One of the most prestigious is Microsoft's. It's a 120+ hour comprehensive course.

A good data scientist resume might show any of the following:

• Microsoft Professional Program Certificate in Data Science
• GCP – Google Certified Professional Data Engineer
• Cornell Data Analytics Certification (Online)
• CHDA – Certified Health Data Analyst
• CAP – Certified Analytics Professional

Don't have a certification? Don't fret. What matters most is your experience, and how well it fits the job requirements.

Pro Tip: If you land the interview, get ready for some FizzBuzz problems. Review topics like recursion, arrays, graphs, and stacks. Do lots of practice problems too.

Want other tips to make your data scientist resume gleam like Sheldon Cooper's? See our guide: What To Put On A Resume To Make It Perfect [Tips & Examples]

Think of your resume like a great data visualization.

The data it needs to visualize is you.

It has to show you're more than just experience and education.

In other words, you're great to work with.

Show that with "other" sections that share your depth and passion.

The next two data science resume examples light the way.

Data Scientist Resume Examples [Other Sections]

That's a Norvig-worthy "other" section.

Even the volunteering and the hiking help. They show leadership and service. You can add GitHub and other projects, too.

In turn, this sample R programming resume "other" section bonks:

What's wrong with WoW and brisket? Nothing!

But do they make you a better data scientist?

Not really, right?

Pro Tip: Need more recruiters to impress with your great data science resume? Start answering questions on Stack Overflow. Hiring managers use it to recruit.

Need more help to hone your data science resume "other" sections? See our guide: 20+ Best Examples of Hobbies & Interests To Put on a Resume (5 Tips)

Recruiters do read data scientist cover letters.

So why do "experts" say they don't?

Because no one reads "Here is my data science resume" type cover letters.

They're wasted space.

Smart candidates use that space to get a resume read carefully.

First, make it personal. Use the hiring manager's name.

Second, show your passion for this data science job.

Third, show specifically how you can help.

Finish with a request. "Can we set up a call to talk about improving [METRIC XYZ]?" works great.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

Create my cover letter now

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Pro Tip: Do you need a masters degree in data science to get a job? No. In fact, a bachelors in math, business, or even political science looks good on a resume for data science.

Want a full template for your data scientist cover letter? See our beast of a guide: Data Scientist Cover Letter Example

If you're like most, you'll make one huge mistake with your data science resume.

It's in your contact info.

Of course you'll add:

• Full Name
• Updated Phone Number
• Professional Email Address

Like so:

Trisha Stamm, Data Scientist, [email protected], 401-439-3501

You probably even know a "professional email address" isn't something like [email protected].

For some reason, nobody wants to hire that guy for data science jobs.

But did you know a LinkedIn profile and data science portfolio are even more important than a resume?

About 87% of recruiters hire from LinkedIn.

A personal portfolio site helps too. It can share so much more than a data science resume.

Where to put GitHub on resume?

You can add your GitHub profile to your contact info, too. Put it near your LinkedIn address.

That works especially well if you've got an impressive body of GitHub work and projects.

Pro Tip: Not sure how to write a great data scientist profile on LinkedIn? We've got you covered. Check out our guide on LinkedIn profile excellence.

Need a guide to set up that job-winning professional website for a data analyst? See this guide: How to Make a Professional Website: Complete Guide + 9 Tips

This guide shows how to write a solid data scientist resume, complete with certifications. Remember these key tips:

• Read the job description carefully. Each bullet point in your data science resume should point back to the job offer.
• Don't just list your skills. Taylor them to fit the job with measurable accomplishments.
• Add "other" sections to make your resume stand out like a machine learning resume by Daphne Koller or Adam Coates.

Do you have questions on how to write a great resume for a data scientist? Not sure how to describe your skills or achievements? Give us a shout in the comments! We love to help!